The researchers developed a historical geographic information system (HGIS) and database to analyze socio-demographic and economic data across administrative boundaries in the Iberian Peninsula from 1850-2000. They standardized data following European directives, overlaid maps in a common projection, and built a webGIS interface to make the historical data publicly available and analyze spatial patterns over time across Portugal and Spain. The goal was to create a new tool to study the region regardless of modern borders.

1. Inventing Europe/Tensions of Europe Sofia 2010 Conference
Jordi Martí-Henneberg, Luís Espinha da Silveira,
Daniel Alves & Josep Puig
Towards a geographical,
historical and socio-
demographic Atlas of the
Iberian Peninsula (1850-2010)

2. Introduction
• Built an Iberian HGIS:
– New tool for analysis
– Collecting data about administrative division, infrastructures, economic
indicators, population, and so on, when official censures are available (1850-
2000)
• Iberian Peninsula (IP):
– Well-delimited geography
– Testing methodological solutions applicable to other areas in Europe
– Analyzing phenomena regardless of national borders
– Identifying patterns of spatial distribution and historical evolution in which
interaction with geographic realities plays an important role
• Challenges:
– European Standards for spatial information
– Project beyond national boundaries
– Data (historical data, different sources…)
– Dissimilar administrative procedures and cartography
Inventing Europe/Tensions of Europe Sofia 2010 Conference 1 / 6

3. Methodology - Using the INSPIRE
directive and metadata policy
• Following European Directives for compatibility and sharing data
• Convert old metadata to new metadata
• New data already following INSPIRE Implementing Rules
Inventing Europe/Tensions of Europe Sofia 2010 Conference 2 / 6
Old Metadata
The INSPIRE Implementing
Rules on Metadata Program
CatMDEdit MIG Editor
Metadata
compliant
INSPIRE
Metadata Management
Portugal
Spain
Iberian
Peninsula
XML

4. Inventing Europe/Tensions of Europe Sofia 2010 Conference 3 / 6
Methodology - Cartography
• Problems:
– Different Data Origin
– Different Coordinate System
– Different Administrative
Units
• Solutions:
– Overlay data (clean slivers and
gaps)
– European Terrestrial
Reference System (1989)
– Iberian Projection
– Higher proportional relationship
between administrative units

5. Districts (pt) & CCAA (es)
Municipalities (pt & es)
Districts (pt) & Provinces (es)
Parishes (pt) & Municipalities (es)

6. Methodology - Database
• Problem: GIS software
shows some limitations in
handling time or historical
information
– Data for one location varies
over time
– Locations or geographic
representations may also
change
– Difficulty in processing
unreferenced data, or
whose location is vague
• Solution: construction of a
database (PostgreSQL)
outside the GIS software
– Flexible in handling new
data
– Register hierarchical
relationships between
spatial elements
– Register changes occurred
on the spatial elements,
and on the corresponding
associated data
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7. Methodology - WebGIS
• Objective:
– A website where all
information can be made
available in distinct geographic
scales and administrative
divisions through time
– Integration of GIS data with
the database
• Solution:
– Open source software: Linux
and Apache (web server
technologies); CartoWeb:
(webGIS interface) & UMN
MapServer (conversion of
shapefiles)
– Secure about data and flexible
about visualization
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8. Methodology - WebGIS
Inventing Europe/Tensions of Europe Sofia 2010 Conference 5 / 6
Web end user
Information
Access Database
Quantitative and
qualitative data
Configuration
files
PostgreSQL
Multimedia
files
UMN MapServer
Cartoweb
Apache
Server
Multimedia
Images
PDFs
Word files
Videos
…
Cartography
GIS software
Shapefiles
Shapefiles

9. Iberian Peninsula - Population density in the 20th century
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10. Thank You!
Inventing Europe/Tensions of Europe Sofia 2010 Conference
You can see it live here:
http://atlas.fcsh.unl.pt/
(in Portuguese, in English and soon in
Spanish, of course)